Storey Force Setup

When the tool is launched in PRIMER, the setup window opens. This where you select the SET_PARTs and cross-sections you wish to process:

First, you need to choose the appropriate unit system from the dropdown menu:

 

Defining Storey Data

You can define the storey data for the structure either by clicking the Create button or the Import button under the Setup Storey Data section. Import allows you to import previously saved storey definitions (e.g. those created for the Storey Drift workflow). When you click Create, the Storey Data window appears:

Each storey can be defined manually by populating Name and Elevation textboxes and then clicking the Add button which will be activated if the inputs are valid.

Alternatively, you can define multiple storeys automatically by clicking Generate. You will be prompted to select nodes in the model. This will then generate storeys for each unique elevation (z-coordinate) among the nodes you have selected. Finally, you can then modify the labels of each generated storey to be more informative for your project.

Click Apply to import the storey data back to the main setup window.

You can optionally save this data by clicking Save. This will write it to a separate JSON file, which you can Import when you are starting a new setup. Normally, storey data would be applicable to multiple Seismic workflows, so saving this data will be useful to those other workflows too.

Defining SET_PARTs

If you have not defined any SET_PARTs prior to running this Workflow, you can use the Create button under the Setup SET_PART(s) section of the setup window. A popup window will appear allowing you the create a new SET_PART. This window is the same as PRIMER's usual Create SET_PART menu (Volumes I & II→ SET→ PART→ Create).

If you have defined some SET_PARTs beforehand, you can use them by clicking Select. A selection window will appear, prompting you to choose SET_PARTS in the model.

 

Some section controls will be active when you select SET_PARTs in the list box as shown above. You will have access to SET_PART commands that will allow you to modify a SET_PART or update your list.

1. Modify – modify SET_PARTs one at a time. A popup window will appear to allow you to modify the properties of the SET_PART and add or remove PARTs from it.
2. Remove – remove existing SET_PARTs from the list. This will not delete them from the model.
3. Delete – remove existing SET_PARTs from the list and delete them from the model. The deletion is not recursive so the PARTs along with their components will still remain.
4. Sketch – highlight the contents of one or more SET_PARTs in the model.
5. Only – isolate the components of one or more SET_PARTs in PRIMER, blanking everything except those components.
6. Reset view – reset the state of the model in view and remove sketches.
7. Refresh – re-validate the SET_PARTs listed. If any SET_PARTs have been deleted using other PRIMER menus, this command will remove them from the list too.

Defining Storey DATABASE_CROSS_SECTIONs

DATABASE_CROSS_SECTIONs can be derived from the storey and SET_PART definitions by clicking Generate. This button will be active only after you specify a positive offset value. The offset value applies a vertical offset for the cross-sections from each storey level z-coordinate. The purpose of the offset is to ensure that DATABASE_CROSS_SECTIONs intersect beam, shell and solid elements, preferably at their midpoint, rather than aligning with nodes at their ends (which would typically be the case without an offset, since storey levels are typically defined at node locations).

A popup window will appear upon successful cross-section generation. It will show you how many new DATABASE_CROSS_SECTIONs have been created in the model, and/or how many existing ones have been added to the CROSS_SECTION(s) sub-section list box.

Similar to the SET_PARTs, some commands will be available to you when you select DATABASE_CROSS_SECTIONs in the list box.

1. Remove – remove existing DATABASE_CROSS_SECTIONs from the list. This will not delete them from the model.
2. Delete – remove existing DATABASE_CROSS_SECTIONs from the list and delete them from the model.
3. Sketch – highlight the DATABASE_CROSS_SECTIONs you selected, along with the SET_PARTs they refer to.
4. Reset view – reset the state of the model in view and remove sketches.
5. Refresh – re-validate the DATABASE_CROSS_SECTIONs listed. If any DATABASE_CROSS_SECTIONs have been deleted via other PRIMER menus, this command will remove them from the list too.

Tip: You may want to delete an entire set of DATABASE_CROSS_SECTIONs from the model that were created by previously running this Workflow. To quickly delete unwanted DATABASE_CROSS_SECTIONs, repopulate the setup window with the previous storey data and SET_PARTs you have used, and then generate the CROSS_SECTIONs with the same offset value. Once these CROSS_SECTIONs are listed, you can select them all and click Delete.

Writing the Workflow File

Once all data has been defined, save the storey force setup by clicking Save. This will write a Workflow file in JSON format. This file will be used to post-process the defined DATABASE_CROSS_SECTIONs in T/HIS and create a report in REPORTER.

The Storey Force Workflow tool has been designed to be used on a sweep of Ansys LS-DYNA runs with different ground motions applied to the same model. It is advised to save the Workflow file in the parent folder (the folder containing several child folders, each containing one set of ground motion results). Currently, this Workflow will only work properly if only one Workflow file exists in the parent folder, including its child folders. If you save this file in the folder of an individual model, then there is a risk to duplicate the Workflow file, which might cause problems later. This will most probably happen when you duplicate the original model to create a new model with a different ground motion input.

For this workflow, one DATABASE_CROSS_SECTION will be generated for each storey, for each SET_PART definition. Remember to save the .key file and rerun the model if new DATABASE_CROSS_SECTIONs have been created, so their results will be available in T/HIS.

Before saving the drift setup, you may also wish to select an include file for the DATABASE_CROSS_SECTION(s). You can choose an include file by clicking Select above the DATABASE_CROSS_SECTION(s) header. The tool will add any DATABASE_CROSS_SECTION keywords created to your selected include file.

Resetting the data

To reset all data, click Clear all and repeat the whole process again to define a new storey force setup. Alternatively, you can select all items in sections 2 and 3 of the setup window and click the Remove buttons on each sub-section to remove the data defined on those sections only.

Importing existing Workflow Data

When an existing Workflow file is present in the root folder, the storey data and SET_PARTs are automatically imported when you run this Workflow.

After removing all data in a current session, you can import the storey data and the SET_PARTs by clicking Import on each sub-section. The SET_PARTs stored in the Workflow file are then validated, and only those existing in the model will be displayed. For further details on importing storey data, please refer to the following section of this manual.

Importing existing Storey Data

As mentioned on the section above, you can import pre-defined storey data to quickly define storeys. The storey data may exist in an external JSON file or in the Workflow file. If it is present, you will be prompted to use an existing Workflow file. If you choose not to, then a file selector popup will appear so you can select an external JSON file.